Month: July 2025

“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison….. the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.”

Genesis 39:21, 23 (RSV)

Most people can relate to a prison story more than they realize. We’ve all had times in our lives when we felt bound, trapped, roadblocked, or imprisoned even if we’ve never been in an actual prison cell. We can feel imprisoned through an unhappy relationship, miserable job situation, a debilitating chronic illness or major financial difficulties.

There’s only a few bible stories about men who’ve spent time locked up.  Maybe we can learn something by looking at these four men who were unjustly imprisoned. The first one was Joseph of the Old Testament, then Peter, Paul and Silas in the New Testament. All were sentenced to prison time, even though innocent. Each man had a different prison sentence length, but all had two things in common; they all loved God and were wrongly accused.

Scripture says that the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love, while he was behind bars, but his story is still a sad one. He was falsely accused of rape, and spent thirteen years in prison. His jailer and fellow prisoners saw his unfaltering reverence for God, and over time, he was promoted to chief over all the prisoners. Later, he was set free and became second in command to Pharaoh, and promoted to governor of Egypt. Instead of going after all those who falsely accused and mistreated him, he had an amazingly  forgiving heart towards his enemies. That’s why the Lord showed him such favor. 

Peter was imprisoned for preaching the gospel. He had genuine trust in God to be able to fall asleep in a dirty, dark dungeon, chained to guards on both sides of him. That kind of trust stems from knowing that God loves us with a steadfast love. An angel appeared and put the guards to sleep, broke Peter’s chains, opened the locked iron gate and led him out of prison and back home. 

Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns, while their arms and legs were chained in their prison cell. The power of praise can never be underestimated, because as they sang, God brought heaven to earth with an earthquake that shook the foundation of their jail cell. Praise brings the power of God to earth, which loosed their chains and flung the prison doors wide open. 

After a period of time, God opened the prison doors for all of these men. The verse I have come to love, out of all these stories is, “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love, and gave him favor”…..Isn’t that really what we all want? 

For God to show us “steadfast love and give us favor.”

A lesson can be learned from these imprisoned four, Joseph, Peter, Paul and Silas. God shows us through these four stories, the keys to unlock any metaphorical prison doors.

We are all so loved by God, with a steadfast love. He loved us long before we ever knew who He is. When we forgive those who hurt us, trust in God’s steadfast love, and give Him praise for who He is, not for what He does, we will be lifted out of our prison, and find a little bit of Heaven here on earth. 

Lord, help us to remember the lessons of these four men, in forgiving our enemies, trusting in your steadfast love for us, and praising you for who you are, rather than for what you do. Amen

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

“God has made everything beautiful in its time.” This alone, is such an awesome and inspiring phrase, it could be made into a poster and framed. It emphasizes the truth that God’s timing is always perfect, and therefore, we can never go wrong to pray for His timing and trust that everything will work out beautifully. 

There are many different ways to apply this scripture and make it relevant to our lives. It could mean that every baby born in its time, is beautiful, whether premature, full term, completely healthy or not. It could also refer to a person in a Nursing Home, who despite their age or mental health, is beautiful in their own time and state of being. It could give us peace when we have chaotic days and nothing is going according to schedule, yet God is working out His perfect timing and purpose for the situation.

There are many stories in scripture, regarding God’s perfect timing. An angel told Sarah that she would have a son in the coming year. It all seemed absurd to her, because she was ninety years old at the time, but it happened. (Genesis 18:14)

The prophet Habakkuk is the only prophet to devote his entire work to the question of God’s justice in the world, and he said that every vision or prophetic word spoken by the Lord has an appointed time for its fulfillment.  (Habakkuk 2:3)

It gives us hope and confidence to trust that, despite all the problems, sorrows or injustices in the world, God is guiding every person’s life with purpose, grace and most of all, His appointed time. We need His perfect timing in every aspect of our lives. Everything is beautiful when we pray and ask for His timing, not ours.

My son was overdue for a CT scan of his brain, to check a shunt device that was placed a year ago to drain excess fluid from his brain. The appointment was finally made but the radiology lab doesn’t sedate patients, and the scan requires lying very still. I learned that his scan was ordered with and without contrast, which means they would need to place an IV in his arm to inject dye, and then do two scans.

I asked friends to pray that he would be cooperative, since he is confused and doesn’t follow commands. A few weeks ago, a nurse at his Nursing Facility tried to draw his blood, but he was so uncooperative, they had to cancel it. 

As the date drew nearer for his CT appointment, there were many friends and relatives praying that he would lie still for the time needed to get a readable scan. I also prayed for God’s perfect timing, that He would have the right people involved, which includes the nurse who places his IV, the Tech who scans him, the ambulance drivers who take him there, the NH caregiver who escorts him, and even the doctor who reads the scan afterward. God’s perfect timing can bring the most perfectly helpful people to every situation. 

Yesterday was his appointment and as the ambulance brought him from the Nursing Home, I drove from my home to meet them in the CT department of the hospital. I arrived extra early, and was surprised to learn that his scan was already in progress. The ambulance arrived earlier than the scheduled time and they took him right in. 

A few minutes later they told me it was finished and I could enter the room. The CT tech said that Jon was “very good”, which were the two most beautiful words I could have heard in the moment. I saw the IV in his arm, which meant he cooperated enough to tolerate the needle catheter to receive the contrast dye.

I am positive that the scan was a success only because of the many prayers, which God answered by having all the right people involved. I told the tech, the escort, and the ambulance drivers that they were all answers to many people’s prayers that day. 

God truly makes everything beautiful in its time. Praying and asking for His perfect timing in whatever we need, helps us to become more aware of His purpose and grace working in our lives. Thank you to all who prayed, and today I am waiting for the results of the scan. 

Lord, everything is truly beautiful in its time. Help us to always seek your perfect timing in every aspect of our lives. Amen

“It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.”

1 Peter 1:12 (RSV)

Peter sums up our salvation history, calling it the good news, “things into which, angels long to look.” Since angels long to look into our salvation, it must be an amazing phenomenon to them. 

Angels are given the power to do anything, except experience grace first hand. They don’t know what it’s like to personally receive mercy and forgiveness as we human beings do. That’s why they get so excited to observe us, as Jesus once said that angels rejoice and celebrate in Heaven, whenever one person repents. (Luke 15:10) 

If we ignore the extraordinary truths about angels, we would have to ignore 294 scripture verses about them throughout old and new testaments. 

There were angels present at every critical moment in Jesus’ life. They appeared to Joseph and Mary before His birth as well as when He was born. Matthew 4:11 tells us angels were with Jesus during His temptations in the desert. Scripture also says they were with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, at His empty tomb, and at His ascension into Heaven. They will also be with Him at His second coming for the final judgement.

These created beings never die, having one sole purpose, to serve and worship God. They serve God by protecting and guiding each one of us, from womb to tomb. Every human person has an angel appointed to them for a lifetime, to do whatever is necessary to lead them to Heaven. Angels might be one of the least appreciated gifts God has given us.

Scripture hints that 1/3 of angels once rebelled, and fell from Heaven, led by Satan, which Jesus described watching. (Luke 10:18) 

There’s an entire world of invisible spirits around us, consisting of angels and demons. Fallen angels may have their own agenda, to steer the world away from faith and distract people from the love of God, but the other 2/3 of angels are still working for our good. Since God has the heart of a Father and the nature of a good Shepherd, His angels are always on mission to bring all of humanity back home to Him. 

At times, it may look like evil is achieving its goal in the world, but good overcomes evil. The effect of evil is just more visible to our eyes, while good is constantly working behind the scenes. Just as the crucifixion appeared to be an act of evil, it bore the fruit of redemption for the world, by giving us victory over death, and promises eternal life with Him. Even when things look bad, good is at work behind the scenes, to bring glory to God, and many souls to Heaven.

God’s Spirit, which dwells in us, is another underestimated power of good in this world. Our prayers can move mountains, we can speak for the helpless and we have a host of angelic helpers who go with us in all we do. The more we realize how angels are here to help us, the more we can reach our full potential. Scripture tells us that angels will sometimes disguise themselves as helpful strangers. (Hebrews 13:2)

Regular people can also be like angels to us, by doing or saying the right things at the right time in our most vulnerable moments. 

God may even use a pet to be our angel. I recently heard a true story of a man who was asleep when his dog began jumping on his chest. It turns out the man was having a heart attack while sleeping. Somehow his dog detected it and quickly woke him up. He called paramedics and his life was saved because of a little dog named Champ, who God used as the angel to save his life that day.

Lord, thank you for the gift of angels, in whatever form you send them to us. Help us by your grace to reach our full potential in being angels for others and to keep receiving help from the angels you send us. Amen

(man with his dog, Champ)

(Man with his dog Champ)

(Matthew 6:9-13)

Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer to pray, but also to use as a template for all prayer. In breaking down one line at a time, maybe we can better understand what He is teaching us:

      Our Father who art in heaven;

God is the King of the universe and yet He wants us to address Him as Father, because we are sons and daughters, not subjects or servants. He has a beloved son, but He wants to be our Father as well. A child doesn’t need to earn His father’s love with good deeds. A natural father loves his children from the day they were born, before they could do anything right or wrong. God also loved us first, before we even knew of Him. 

     Hallowed be Thy name;

The name of God is to be hallowed, which means to treat it as sacred and holy, because He is sacred and holy. I love the contrast of the first and second line in this prayer. He is our loving intimate father but He is also the most high, sacred and holiest God. We are loved by a holy God who also wants His children to be holy, as His Spirit searches and purifies our hearts.

     Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven;

This line reminds us that there is more to come and our life in this world is not all there is. God has a coming kingdom, and until that kingdom comes, He desires that we let His will be done in our lives. In all that we pray and ask for, our wishes and desires are still yielded to His will, saying as Jesus said, “Thy will be done.” We can say it because God always knows what’s best for us and we trust in His perfect will.

      Give us this day our daily bread;

Bread is nourishment, and for us it is both physically and spiritually nourishing. Jesus is our daily bread of spiritual nourishment. Everyone is on a quest for nourishment, but sometimes we look for it in all the wrong places. We look for it through relationships or things we can buy, but Jesus called Himself the living bread of heaven. Jesus is our daily bread and no other bread satisfies the soul and spirit as He does.

      Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; 

We are reminded that forgiveness needs to be a two way street. Here is the biggest challenge in the entire Lord’s prayer. Every statement in this prayer is one that Jesus talked about regularly. He reminded us many times about forgiving others, through his parables. If we want to be forgiven, He says we must forgive others. There’s an old Irish proverb “We bury the hatchet but mark the spot.” Forgiveness is easier if we have a short term memory, and forget where all the hatchets are buried. 

       Lead us not into temptation, but       deliver us from evil.

The previous parts of the Lord’s Prayer pertain to things which we  can take control of, by lining our will up with God’s. We seek His daily nourishment, we allow ourselves to be loved and fathered by Him, and we forgive our enemies, but this last line is a plea for divine help. It’s asking for what only God can do, in keeping us from all evil. He is our good shepherd, who delivers us from evil. An old testament title for God is “El Gibor,” which translates from Hebrew to, “God, our hero.”

Jesus saves the best line for last, in the conclusion to this prayer, that God is our true hero, who delivers us from all evil.  After the many times we have all experienced His deliverance from evil, it’s easy to finally say, 

“To Him be the kingdom, the power and the glory, now and forever.”

Amen

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Philippians 4:8 (RSV)

This scripture encourages us to stay focused on good, honorable and positive things. Doing what this scripture says to do, can yield the effect of medicine for our soul. 

There is a resident at the Nursing Facility, who I befriended over the past two years during my visits. I will call him Jim, to protect his privacy. Of all the residents I’ve met, Jim seems to be the most sound minded person there. Maybe it’s because he’s not living there due to substance abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, a stroke, brain injury, or a psychiatric disorder. 

Jim’s mind is healthy but he has an incurable lung disease that stems from his service in the military. He is only in his late fifties, never married and has no children. He cannot work and is solely dependent on veteran benefits for health care. He lives in the NH for permanent care, since he is on oxygen 24/7. 

After coming to know Jim during my weekly visits, I learned that he received two Purple Hearts and a bronze Medal of Honor for his service during the Iraq war. That alone, revealed a lot about his character. 

For the past two months he has not received his government check, and he doesn’t know why. Since he is physically unable to contact the government department, the business manager of the NH has promised to inquire about it for him and find out why his checks have suddenly stopped. The business manager left messages but no one has called her back. I hope she presses on further to get an answer and help him get his monthly benefits restored. 

In the meantime, Jim needed pants, but since he has no spending money, his lady friend who lives down the hall from him, decided to buy him some pants. She asked me to shop for him and later reimbursed me. Jim thanked me for getting him four pairs of sweat pants. Then he said with frustration in his watery eyes, 

“I can’t even buy my own pants.” 

I offered to lend him some spending money until his checks resume, but he adamantly refused. I told him, “You gave your health and your time serving this country, so let me lend you money” but he refused. I hope the business manager of the NH is able to get his problem solved.  

I’m also friends with the lady who bought his pants, who is a pretty outspoken believer in Jesus. She keeps trying to convince Jim to have faith, but he was previously never interested. A few weeks ago, she and I both noticed a change in Jim, as he seemed to have a new respect for the things of God. When I brought some Christian reading materials to hand out to some residents, Jim asked for one. 

She and I talked about his new openness and then she told me that she had been praying fervently for Jim. She would love to see him fully embrace Christianity and her prayers seem to be working. 

Since Jim is too honorable to accept a loan, I told him I would pray that the finance problem is solved, so that his checks start coming again. He thanked me and said  “Please do.”

It is edifying to focus on people who represent something honorable, who inspire our faith in humanity. When we meditate on people and things that are praise worthy, instead of the negativity all around us, we find inner peace. Like many other veterans, Jim did what he did, not for the medals, but for his country and for his fellow soldiers. He has the heart of a hero, and I pray it leads him to become a champion of faith in Jesus Christ.

Lord, help us all to have the hearts of heroes and to become champions of faith in you. Keep us focused on  what is honorable, edifying, and on the excellence of people who inspire us. Amen

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Matthew 13:44 (NAB)

Jesus is basically telling us that we’re meant to have such a desire for Heaven, that we would give up all other things just to have it. The kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of God were phrases used interchangeably by Jesus, in the same conversation, and the Bible scholars say they mean the same thing. In some places of scripture, the kingdom refers to that place in another dimension, where saints, angels and the souls of the redeemed live in God’s presence. 

In another scripture, Jesus said “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21)

Here, Jesus referred to a kingdom that is the invisible presence of God, which dwells in us by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit in us, is what keeps God at the center of our motives, thoughts and actions, in this present life. 

The kingdom of Heaven can mean that other dimensional place or the Spirit working within us here and now. Either way, it’s a treasure that is buried. It’s buried because we cannot physically see it, but it leaves us so much to think about. 

Jesus wants us to desire God’s Heavenly kingdom more than anything, so that our greatest desires will be for the things that money cannot buy in this world.  

It’s difficult to desire a kingdom we cannot physically see, since it’s invisible. The true stories of people’s near death experiences, can open our minds to get a glimpse of that unseen kingdom.

There was a man named Howard, who once lost consciousness and collapsed. He had a near death experience (NDE), where he saw his body on the ground, surrounded by paramedics trying to resuscitate him. He watched his body as his soul was floating upward, towards a bright light that eventually led him to a brief vision of Heaven. While he was there, he had a “Life review”, and saw highlights of his whole life played back, in the form of a movie documentary. 

Howard had a long career as an art professor, and was in fact, a color specialist in the field of art. After his resuscitation, he recovered but never forgot his brief vision of Heaven. He saw colors that he never saw before, which he had no name for, despite being a color expert. He heard Jesus speaking to him, and woke up with a different outlook, a new awareness of God’s presence and a desire to serve Him for the remaining time of his life. 

Other people who had NDEs, had very similar experiences and though  every one seemed to last for hours, it was actually only a few minutes, until they were resuscitated. Heaven is truly a dimension outside of time or space. Those who died and briefly experienced Heaven, never find adequate words to compare it to anything in this present world. 

The interesting thing about NDEs is that every person expressed the same desire to stay there, and not return to their present life. In spite of their desire, they all recovered and lived out their lives with a positive difference.

Maybe that’s why Jesus described heaven as a place that someone would desire so much, that they would sell everything, in order to buy the field containing that hidden treasure. It is that precise treasure that motivates us to keep God at the center of our present lives. 

Peter describes an inheritance reserved in Heaven for us, where Jesus will one day be revealed to all, 

“Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.” (1 Peter 1:8)

Jesus once asked Peter three times in a row, if he loved Him, and I believe He is asking us something through His words in Matthew’s gospel about the kingdom of Heaven being a buried treasure. 

He is asking us “How much do you desire the treasure in this field ?“ As we keep our desires on the things money cannot buy, our response is, “Lord, you’re the treasure that I desire above all else.”

Lord, help us to remember that your kingdom is the greatest treasure and to center all of our hopes, thoughts and motives on you and in the unseen truths that you spoke about. Amen

“They returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, saying, “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.”

Acts 14:21-22 (NASB)

I recently browsed through a Bible which I hadn’t looked at in years, since I’ve been reading the Bible on my iPhone for quite some time. I found it amusing to read what I once wrote on the inside binders of that old Bible. The neat handwriting of my younger days had inscribed tidbits of wisdom that I was learning at the time, along with favorite scripture verses that had impacted my life. 

That was the Bible I used from my college days throughout my first marriage and while raising my twin boys. While reading my hand written notes, I was reminded of the different phases of my life, all the while maintaining my relationship with Jesus. One of the verses I wrote on the inside binder of that Bible was today’s scripture verse, 

“Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” 

Whatever I was going through at the time, the circumstances always change over time, which is proof that every stage of life will have its own tribulations to contend with.

I turned to the 14th chapter of Acts, just to read and refresh my memory on the background of this specific scripture verse. The story was about Paul, successfully preaching the gospel in the city of Lystra, until the Jewish religious authorities of that area, came and convinced the crowd to stone Paul. He was stoned until he fell to the ground unconscious. His disciples and friends carried him away, assuming he was dead. 

Paul recovered and resiliently went on to preach in many more cities after that, but he returned to Lystra to strengthen the souls of those believers and to encourage them to continue in their faith. That’s the background for the scripture verse today. The believers in Lystra were inspired by Paul’s faith and probably very relieved to see that he was alive and well. 

The persevering spirit of Paul could be summed up in two words……

”Never stop.” He never stopped trusting God, never stopped continuing in his faith, and never stopped encouraging others to continue in their faith as well. His message to the city of Lystra is a timeless one for all Christians, that through many tribulations we will enter the kingdom of God. We can find courage and inspiration in Paul’s message, that whatever happens, “Never stop.”

Paul didn’t invest his hope in becoming popular or finding favor with the crowd. He knew how quick people could change and turn against him. In fact, Paul expected tribulations, and he survived many of them during his ministry. Just as the Lord gave Paul resilience, He wants to make us resilient as well. 

Thankfully, we are not likely to be stoned, beaten or killed for our faith in this nation, but believers in countries like North Korea, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria and others, are suffering with imprisonment and death for their Christian faith. 

Christians today still suffer with various tribulations, though not always directly for their faith. They may lose friends for taking a different stand on ethical issues. Some are suffering with medical problems, or have a loved one who is terminally ill. They might be grieving over prematurely losing a loved one, while some are dealing with chronic mental health battles, which can be harder on one’s spirit and soul than physical suffering is.

As we reflect on our own lives over the past decades, we have all had ups and downs, wins and losses, blessings and hardships, but Jesus is forever our rock and our refuge, the One who makes us resilient as He did for Paul. He walks with us through every tribulation, giving us the resilience to never stop believing, and inspiring us to encourage others to continue in their faith. 

That scripture verse written in the binder of my old Bible, are words that are relevant for all believers, of all times, so that we will keep pressing on, and never stop, because the Lord is with us through every tribulation, leading us on to the kingdom of God.

Lord, thank you for giving us the resilience to continue in faith, by trusting you, and help us to encourage others who are facing tribulations, leading us all to the kingdom of God. Amen 

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Romans 11:29 (NASB)

There is a popular Christian proverb, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”

God has called each of us to do something good for His kingdom, and regardless of how many times we fail or become distracted on our faith journey, His calling never changes. There are examples throughout scripture of people God called to do a great task even though they were weak, arrogant or completely unqualified for the job. It’s a soul inspiring truth.

God has a long history of using flawed people to do important tasks. It seems like a paradox, but there are many stories in scripture, about people who were called by God, even though they were weak, flawed or selfish, and yet God used them in great ways. Despite our human failures, the calling of God is an irrevocable one.

If we ever feel unqualified to do a job that we were asked to do for our church or in another ministry, we can remind ourselves of the following men in scripture. God selected many unlikely people to fulfill important  tasks. He chose people we would never choose, if it were based on their resumes. 

Moses once killed an Egyptian taskmaster and then fled as a fugitive into the wilderness. God called him through a fiery burning bush, to lead 600,000 people out of slavery from Egypt. Moses had some type of speech problem, possibly a stutter, telling the Lord that he was the wrong man to ask, since he was slow of speech and slow of tongue.  (Exodus 4:10)

He proved to be a great leader with courage, patience, and faith despite his shortcomings and past history. 

Balaam was a prophet, who sought his own personal advancement. He delivered many messages in God’s name, while cursing groups of people, who God never told him to curse. He did it for personal gain by seeking the political approval of bad men who were in powerful positions. 

One day, God sent an angel to stop him from delivering another false prophecy. Balaam didn’t see the angel but his donkey did, and God gave the donkey the ability to talk back to Balaam, which changed his heart, and led him to prophesy only what God commanded him to say, from that day on. (Numbers 22:30)

Jonah was an arrogant man, and yet he was called by God to go to the city of Nineveh and preach a message of repentance to the Ninevite people. Jonah flat out refused to obey, because he didn’t think the Ninevites were worthy of God’s mercy. He booked a ride on a boat going in the opposite direction, far away from Nineveh. A storm arose, the ship almost sank, and one thing led to another, until a whale tossed Jonah onto the shores of Nineveh, the exact place he tried to run away from.  

It’s unbelievable that God used such flawed men to help large groups of people discover His mercy. The men who God called, learned their lessons in the end, and were changed, living their lives differently, but God had to use some unlikely things to get His point across to them, like a burning bush, a talking donkey and the belly of a whale.

We can also see God’s irrevocable calling on Peter, the apostle who is the rock of the church. Three times, he denied ever knowing Jesus, but it didn’t change the calling that God had for him. Just like Moses, Balaam and Jonah, God gave each man more than one chance to find their faith, stand corrected and be restrengthened. 

God is so good that He chooses to work within our flaws and failures, because that’s what it means to have an irrevocable calling by a God of love. The next time we want to turn down an opportunity that seems to require more than we are qualified for, we should remember that God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. We serve an amazing God whose gifts and calling are forever irrevocable. 

Lord, thank you for your faithfulness,  even when we are faithless. Guide us in the path and direction that we were born for, and refresh in us, a renewed sense of our calling. Amen

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

Paul encouraged the Ephesian church to keep praying for one another. It’s always good to pray for ourselves, but there is something special about church people who pray for one another. When believers agree together to intercede for someone else, powerful things start happening.

San Francisco General hospital once hosted a medical research study on prayer back in 1988, which was written up in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study took 393 patients who had heart attacks, and were under the same standard of cardiac care, but separated them into two groups. Both groups continued to be treated medically, but only half of the group were regularly prayed for. It was a double blind study, where the “prayed for” group didn’t even know that they were being prayed for. Their first names were given to various prayer teams across the country, who knew nothing about the people whose names they received, but the prayer teams prayed daily for them for four straight weeks. 

The prayer intercessor teams were from across the country, and came from a variety of Christian faiths. They were nondenominational, Episcopalian, Roman Catholics, Baptists and other Protestant groups. The prayer intercessors were ordinary people who regularly attended church and had long established habits of daily prayer.

After four weeks, the group of patients who were being prayed for, had 3 times less complications and a significantly higher survival rate than the group that was not prayed for. The study results suggested that remote, intercessory prayer along with standard medical treatment yields the best outcome. 

I used to think that being prayed for in person brought the best results, but this study proved that praying for people we may never see, is equally as powerful as for those we do see. After reading about this prayer study, I have a whole new respect for prayers offered remotely, through prayer lists, whether a prayer list is in a church, a TV or radio station, or a faith based prayer or Bible study group. Paul told the Ephesians to pray for all kinds of requests, on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers, which covers it all. 

Maybe it should be a priority to add names to prayer lists wherever they may be, and never underestimate the power of remote, intercessory prayer made on behalf of others. 

Lord, deepen our faith to trust that you read every name on every prayer list, and help us to trust the power of remote prayer for all requests, on all occasions, with all types of prayer. Amen

“And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.”

Galatians 6:9 (RSV)

My family is from Chicago, but after my widowed mother retired, she relocated to Huntington Beach, California. My brother was already living there, working for Boeing as an Aerospace engineer, and she decided that it would be a sunny, warm place to spend her retirement years. She made the right choice and lived there for 30 years, making many new friends, and we had enjoyable visits together over the years. 

She enjoyed a 90th birthday party, in her California home, joined by family and friends who flew in to celebrate that special day with her. She was so fortunate to be able to continue living independently and in good health, at her age. She was doing well until the day she tripped and fell, while walking to the nearby grocery store. She broke her wrist in that fall, and became too fearful to venture outside after that. It wasn’t long after her wrist injury, that my brother and I noticed a big change in her mental status, as she was becoming increasingly confused. 

She was a long time recipient of a daily meal from “Meals on wheels.”On a minor holiday, when no meal was delivered, in her confusion, she called 9-1-1, to urgently report that no one brought her a meal that day. 

The Huntington Beach police department sent two officers to her house. I learned afterward that those officers came to her door, and asked her what she would like to eat. Taking note of her request, they left and returned minutes later with a cheeseburger and french fries. 

(She declined a beverage, since she always kept beer in her refrigerator.)

My mother was unaware that she received a service that was far  outside the norm of a 9-1-1 call. In her dementia, she had unrealistic expectations of her local police department, but they came through 100%. When I later heard the story of how those policemen brought her a meal, I was so touched by their kindness that I wrote a letter to the police department, thanking them for going the extra mile. 

As her mental health worsened, we moved my mother back to Illinois, where she lived the rest of her life with my husband and me. We gave her a 92nd birthday party in my home, and four months later, she passed away peacefully in her sleep. 

That was over nineteen years ago, but I will never forget the kindness of those police officers who went far beyond their job description, to make a kind but confused old lady, happy. 

As today’s scripture says, those who do not grow weary in doing good, will reap in due season. I trust that those officers have reaped their rewards for the exceptional kindness they showed that day.

Today is my mother’s birthday, and since she also went the extra mile in doing good and caring for others, I believe she reaped her rewards in due season, both in this life and in eternity. 

God has established natural laws of life, in the sowing and reaping of the rewards for acts of kindness, not only in heaven, but in this present life as well. Stories like this, teach us to press on, and not lose heart. We may have moments of growing weary in doing good for others, but there will be a day of reaping for all who continue to sow seeds of kindness. 

Lord, thank you for going far beyond the extra mile for us, by offering yourself for our salvation. Help us to not grow weary in doing good, so that we may reap blessings in this life as well as in eternity. Amen